National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Very Large Array, New Mexico
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 34° 04.584 W 107° 37.384
13S E 257950 N 3773733
Officially named the “Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array,” this astronomical interferometer is the most advanced radio telescope array in the world.
Waymark Code: WMZVWA
Location: New Mexico, United States
Date Posted: 01/10/2019
Views: 8
When it comes to telescopes, bigger is better. By combining the signals from an array of radio telescopes positioned miles apart, an image can be synthesized as if it were obtained from a single telescope miles in diameter. This technique is known as interferometry. The NRAO’s VLA facility consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration. Each individual antenna is 25 meters in diameter and they can be positioned in an array up to 22 miles across.
There are four basic configurations called A, B, C and D with D having the antennas closest together and A the furthest apart. It takes some doing to reconfigure the antennas, so the facility cycles through the various configurations according to a schedule. The cycle currently goes from configuration D to C to B to A then back to D again. The complete cycle can take over a year. The stamp shows the antennas in the D configuration. If you visit when the antennas are in the A configuration, they’re so far apart that you can hardly see one from the other. The configuration schedule is posted on their website listed below.
The stamp is from a souvenir sheet entitled “Probing the Vastness of Space.” It was issued in the year 2000 and contains six stamps, each showing a different telescope or observatory.
Stamp Issuing Country: United States
Date of Issue: 10-Jul-2000
Denomination: 60c
Color: multicolored
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
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